Display panel having a gate driver integrated therein

ABSTRACT

A display panel includes an amorphous silicon gate driver in which a lower voltage than the gate-off voltage output from the gate driver is applied to an adjacent stage as a low voltage transmission signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/860,164 filed on Apr. 28, 2020, which is a continuation applicationof U.S. application Ser. No. 16/553,642 filed on Aug. 28, 2019, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 10,770,020 on Sep. 8, 2020, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 15/613,698 filed Jun. 5, 2017, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,403,221 on Sep. 3, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/949,931 filed Nov. 19, 2010, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 9,672,782 on Jun. 6, 2017, which claims priority to and the benefitof Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0115171 filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Nov. 26, 2009, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND (a) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to display panels, and, moreparticularly, to a display panel having a gate driver integratedtherein.

(b) Discussion of the Related Art

As one of a group of widely used display panels, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) includes two display panels provided with field generatingelectrodes such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode, and a liquidcrystal layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images byapplying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate anelectric field in the LC layer that determines the orientation of LCmolecules therein to adjust the polarization of incident light. Organiclight emitting devices, plasma display devices, and electrophoreticdisplays, as well as LCDs, are examples of such widely used displaypanels.

These display devices include a gate driver and a data driver. The gatedriver can be integrated on the panel by being patterned along with agate line, a data line, and a thin film transistor. A separate gatedriving chip can be avoided by forming an integrated gate driver,thereby reducing manufacturing cost. However, thin film transistorsformed inside the integrated gate driver can generate leakage currentwhile the gate off signal is output such that undesired increased powerconsumption occurs.

Also, the characteristics of the semiconductor (particularly anamorphous semiconductor) of the thin film transistor are changeableaccording to temperature, and as a result, gate voltage output at hightemperature does not have a uniform waveform and noise is generated.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionpower consumption of a gate driver integrated in a display panel isreduced and a gate voltage having a uniform waveform at high temperatureis output.

According to an exemplary embodiment a display panel includes a displayarea having a gate line. A gate driver is connected to one end of thegate line, the gate driver including a plurality of stages andintegrated on a substrate. The stages receive a clock signal, a firstlow voltage and a second low voltage that is lower than the first lowvoltage, at least one transmission signal from a previous stage, and atleast two transmission signals from a next stage to output a gatevoltage having a first low voltage as a gate-off voltage.

The gate voltage when the transmission signal is low may be the secondlow voltage.

At least one transmission signal applied to a first stage may be ascanning start signal.

The display area may include a data line. The display panel may includea data driver that supplies a data voltage which is applied to the dataline. The data driver may be formed at an upper side or a lower side ofthe display panel.

The stages may include an input section, a pull-up driver, a pull-downdriver, an output section, and a transmission signal generator.

The input section, the pull-down driver, the output section, and thetransmission signal generator may be connected to a first node.

The input section may be connected between a first input terminal inputthat receives at least one transmission signal from the previous stageand the first node.

The output section may be connected between a gate voltage outputterminal that outputs the gate voltage, a clock input terminal inputwith the clock signal, and the first node, such that the gate voltage isoutput according to the voltage of the first node.

The transmission signal generator may be connected between atransmission signal output terminal that outputs the transmissionsignal, the clock input terminal, and the first node, such that thetransmission signal is output according to the voltage of the firstnode.

The pull-up driver and the pull-down driver may be connected to a secondnode.

The pull-down driver may be connected to each terminal that inputs atleast two transmission signals from the next stage, which are the firstlow voltage and the second low voltage, the transmission signal outputterminal, and the gate voltage output terminal, and is also connected tothe first node and the second node.

The pull-down driver may include an element that pulls down the firstnode, an element that pulls down the second node, an element that pullsdown the transmission signal output terminal, and an element that pullsdown the gate voltage output terminal.

The element that pulls down the first node may decrease the voltage ofthe first node to the second low voltage according to one of at leasttwo transmission signals from the next stage and the voltage of thesecond node voltage.

Decreasing of the voltage of the first node to the second low voltageaccording to one transmission signal of at least two transmissionsignals from the next stage may be executed through a first transistorhaving a control terminal that receives one transmission signal of atleast two transmission signals from the next stage and an input terminalconnected to the first node, and a second transistor having a controlterminal and an input terminal connected to an output terminal of thefirst transistor and an output terminal connected to the second lowvoltage.

The element that pulls down the second node may decrease the voltage ofthe second node to the second low voltage according to at least onetransmission signal from the previous stage or the transmission signalof the corresponding stage.

The element that pulls down the second node may decrease the voltage ofthe second node to the second low voltage according to at least onetransmission signal from the previous stage, and decreases the voltageof the second node to the first low voltage according to thetransmission signal of the corresponding stage.

The element that pulls down the transmission signal output terminal madecrease the voltage of the transmission signal output terminal to thesecond low voltage according to the voltage of the second node.

The element that pulls down the transmission signal output terminal madecrease the voltage of the transmission signal output terminal to thesecond low voltage according to one of at least two transmission signalsfrom the next stage.

The element that pulls down the gate voltage output terminal maydecrease the voltage of the gate voltage output terminal to the firstlow voltage according to the voltage of the second node or one of atleast two transmission signals from the next stage.

The pull-up driver may be connected to the clock input terminal, thepull-down driver, and the second node.

At least one transmission signal from the previous stage may thetransmission signal of the neighboring previous stage, or at least twotransmission signals from the next stage may be the transmission signalsof two next stages that continuously neighbor each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thecircuit of each stage is decreased to a lower potential than thegate-off voltage such that the current leakage is reduced, therebyobtaining the low power consumption, and a ripple applied through thetransmission signal may be reduced at a high temperature such that auniform gate-on voltage may be output at a high temperature. Also,although the further lower voltage is applied at the low temperature, itis possible to operate it and the lifespan is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a display panel according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the gate driver and the gate line ofFIG. 1 in further detail.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of one stage and one gate line in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a graph comparing power consumption when using the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 3 with power consumption according to theconventional art.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a display panel according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the gate driver and the gate line ofFIG. 5 in further detail.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of one stage and one gate line in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 is a graph comparing power consumption when using the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 7 with power consumption according to theconventional art.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing current flowing in the first transistor thatoutputs a gate voltage in a gate driver according to the conventionalart with reference to a clock signal CKV.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing current flowing in the first transistor thatoutputs a gate voltage in a gate driver according to the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 7 with reference to a clock signal CKV.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are graphs showing characteristics at hightemperature, characteristics at low temperature, and characteristics fora lifespan when using the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 as comparedwith the conventional art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodimentsof the invention are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize,the described embodiments may be modified in various different wayswithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout thespecification and drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a display panel 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes a display area 300displaying images, and a gate driver 500 applying a gate voltage to agate line of the display area 300. A data line of the display area 300receives a data voltage from a data driver IC 460 formed on a flexibleprinted circuit film (FPC) 450 attached to the display panel 100. Thegate driver 500 and the data driver IC 460 are controlled by a signalcontroller 600. A printed circuit board (PCB) 400 is formed outside theflexible printed circuit film 450, and transmits the signal from thesignal controller 600 to the data driver IC 460 and the gate driver 500.The signal provided from the signal controller 600 may include a signalsuch as a first clock signal CKV, a second clock signal CKVB, a scanstart signal STVP, and a signal providing low voltages Vss1, Vss2 of aparticular level.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the liquid crystal panel. When the displayarea 300 is a liquid crystal panel, the display area includes a thinfilm transistor Trsw, a liquid crystal capacitor Clc, and a storagecapacitor Cst, and. On the other hand, the display area 300 for anorganic light emitting panel includes a thin film transistor and anorganic light emitting diode, and the display area 300 for other displaypanels includes elements such as a thin film transistor. Hereinbelow, anexemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal panel will be described in moredetail.

The display area 300 includes a plurality of gate lines G1, . . . Gn anda plurality of data lines D1, . . . Dm. The plurality of gate lines G1,. . . Gn and the plurality of data lines D1, . . . Dm are insulated fromand intersect each other.

Each pixel PX includes the thin film transistor Trsw, the liquid crystalcapacitor Clc, and the storage capacitor Cst. The control terminal ofthe thin film transistor Trsw is connected to one gate line, the inputterminal of the thin film transistor Trsw is connected to one data line,and the output terminal of the thin film transistor Trsw is connected toone terminal of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and one terminal of thestorage capacitor Cst. The other terminal of the liquid crystalcapacitor Clc is connected to the common electrode, and the otherterminal of the storage capacitor Cst receives a storage voltage Vcstapplied from the signal controller 600.

The plurality of data lines D1, . . . Dm receive the data voltages fromthe data driver IC 460, and the plurality of gate lines G1, . . . Gnreceive the gate voltage from the gate driver 500.

The data driver IC 460 is formed at the upper side or the lower side ofthe display panel 100 thereby being connected to the data lines D1, . .. Dm extended in the longitudinal direction. In the exemplary embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1 the data driver IC 460 is positioned at the upperside of the display panel 100.

The gate driver 500 receives the clock signals CKV, CKVB, the scan startsignal STVP, the first low voltage Vss1 conforming to the gate-offvoltage, and the second low voltage Vss2 that is less than the gate-offvoltage to generate gate voltages (a gate-on voltage and a gate-offvoltage) and sequentially apply the gate-on voltage to the gate linesG1, . . . Gn.

The clock signals CKV, CKVB, the scan start signal STVP, the first lowvoltage Vss1, and the second low voltage Vss2 applied to the gate driver500 are applied to the gate driver 500 through the flexible printedcircuit film 450 positioned at the outmost side and the side of the gatedriver 500, as shown in FIG. 1 . These signals are transmitted to theflexible printed circuit film 450 through the printed circuit board PCB400 from the signal controller 600, or, in an alternative embodiment,from externally.

Next, the detailed description will focus on an exemplary embodiment ofthe gate driver 500 and the gate lines G1, . . . Gn.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the gate driver and the gate lines ofFIG. 1 in further detail. The display area 300 is shown to have aresistor Rp and a capacitor Cp. The gate lines G1, . . . Gn, the liquidcrystal capacitor Clc, and the storage capacitor Cst respectively haveresistances and capacitances, and their sums are represented as oneresistance Rp and one capacitance Cp. The gate voltage output from thestage SR is transmitted through the gate lines. As shown in FIG. 2 , thegate line may be represented as the resistance Rp and the capacitance Cpin a circuit diagram. These values depict a representative value for onegate line, but may change according to the structure and thecharacteristics of the display area 300.

The gate driver 500 includes a plurality of stages SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, .. . that are dependently connected to each other. Each of the stagesSR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, . . . includes three input terminals IN1, IN2, IN3,one clock input terminal CK, two voltage input terminals Vin1, Vin2, agate voltage output terminal OUT that outputs the gate voltage, and atransmission signal output terminal CRout.

The first input terminal IN1 is connected to the transmission signaloutput terminal CRout of the previous stage thereby receiving thetransmission signal CR of the previous stage. However, the first stagedoes not have a previous stage such that the scan start signal STVP atthe first input terminal IN1 is applied.

The second input terminal IN2 is connected to the transmission signaloutput terminal CRout of the next stage thereby receiving thetransmission signal CR of the next stage. Also, the third input terminalIN3 is connected to the transmission signal output terminal CRout of thesecond next stage thereby receiving the transmission signal CR of thesecond next stage.

A stage SRn (not shown) connected to the n-th gate line Gn may have twodummy stages to receive the transmission signal CR from the next stageand the second next stage. The dummy stages (SRn+1, SRn+2; not shown)are stages that generate and output a dummy gate voltage, different fromthe stages SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, . . . SRn. That is, the gate voltageoutput from the stages SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, . . . SRn is transmittedthough the gate lines such that the data voltage is applied to the pixelfor the display of the images, however the dummy stages SRn+1, SRn+2would not be connected to the gate lines, although when they areconnected to the gate lines, they are connected to the gate lines of adummy pixel (not shown) that do not display the image such that theywould not be used for the display of the image.

The clock terminals CK are applied with a clock signal, and among theplurality of stages, the clock terminals CK of the odd-numbered stagesare applied with the first clock signal CKV and the clock terminals CKof the even-numbered stages are applied with the second clock signalCKVB. The first clock signal CKV and the second clock signal CKVB haveopposite phases to each other.

The first voltage input terminal Vin1 is applied with the first lowvoltage Vss1 corresponding to the gate-off voltage, and the secondvoltage input terminal Vin2 is applied with the second low voltage Vss2that is lower than the first low voltage Vss1.

The voltage values of the first low voltage Vss1 and the second lowvoltage Vss2 may vary according to the particular exemplary embodiment.In the present exemplary embodiment the value of the first low voltageVss1 is −5V and the value of the second low voltage Vss2 is −10V.

The operation of the gate driver 500 will now be described in moredetail.

The first stage SR1 receives the first clock signal CKV provided fromoutside to the clock input terminal CK, the scan start signal STVPthrough the first input terminal IN1, the first and second low voltagesVss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltage input terminals Vin1,Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectively provided from thesecond stage SR2 and the third stage SR3 through the second and thirdinput terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltage is output to thefirst gate line through the gate voltage output terminal OUT. Also, thetransmission signal output terminal CRout outputs the transmissionsignal CR, and it is transmitted to the first input terminal IN1 of thesecond stage SR2.

The second stage SR2 receives the second clock signal CKVB provided fromoutside to the clock input terminal CK, the transmission signal CR ofthe first stage SR1 through the first input terminal IN1, the first andsecond low voltages Vss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltageinput terminals Vin1, Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectivelyprovided from the third stage SR3 and the fourth stage SR4 through thesecond and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltageis output to the second gate line through the gate voltage outputterminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output through thetransmission signal output terminal CRout thereby being transmitted tothe first input terminal IN1 of the third stage SR3 and the second inputterminal IN2 of the first stage SR1.

The third stage SR3 receives the first clock signal CKV provided fromoutside to the clock input terminal CK, the transmission signal CR ofthe second stage SR2 through the first input terminal IN1, the first andsecond low voltages Vss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltageinput terminals Vin1, Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectivelyprovided from the fourth stage SR4 and the fifth stage SR5 through thesecond and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltageis output to the third gate line through the gate voltage outputterminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output through thetransmission signal output terminal CRout thereby being transmitted tothe first input terminal IN1 of the fourth stage SR4, the third inputterminal IN3 of the first stage SR1, and the second input terminal IN2of the second stage SR2.

Through the above method, the n-th stage SRn receives the second clocksignal CKVB provided from the outside to the clock input terminal CK,the transmission signal CR of the n−1-th stage SRn−1 through the firstinput terminal IN1, the first and second low voltages Vss1, Vss2 throughthe first and second voltage input terminals Vin1, Vin2, and thetransmission signals CR respectively provided from the (n+1)-th stageSRn+1 (the dummy stage) and the (n+2)-th stage SRn+2 (the dummy stage)through the second and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that thegate-on voltage is output to the n-th gate line through the gate voltageoutput terminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output throughthe transmission signal output terminal CRout thereby being transmittedto the first input terminal IN1 of the (n+1)-th stage SRn+1 (the dummystage), the third input terminal IN3 of the (n−2)-th stage SRn−2, andthe second input terminal IN2 of the (n−1)-th stage SRn−1.

The connection structure of the stages SR of the gate driver 500 hasbeen described with reference to FIG. 2 . Next, the structure of anexemplary embodiment of a representative stage SR of a gate driverconnected to one gate line will be described in further detail withreference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of one stage SR and one gate line in FIG. 2. Each stage SR of the gate driver 500 according to the presentexemplary embodiment includes an input section 511, a pull-up driver512, a transmission signal generator 513, an output section 514, and apull-down driver 515.

The input section 511 includes one transistor (the fourth transistorTr4). The input terminal and the control terminal of the fourthtransistor Tr4 are commonly connected (diode-connected) to the firstinput terminal IN1. The output terminal thereof is connected to a node Q(hereinafter referred to as the first node). The input section 511 hasthe function of transmitting the high voltage to the node Q when thefirst input terminal IN1 is applied with the high voltage.

The pull-up driver 512 includes two transistors (the seventh transistorTr7 and the twelfth transistor Tr12. The control terminal and the inputterminal of the twelfth transistor Tr12 are diode-connected therebyreceiving the first clock signal CKV or the second clock signal CKVBthrough the clock terminal CK, and the output terminal is connected tothe control terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 and the pull-downdriver 515. The input terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 is alsoconnected to the clock terminal CK. The output terminal is connected tothe node Q′ (hereinafter referred to as the second node) and is passedthrough the node Q′ thereby being connected to the pull-down driver 515.The control terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 is connected to theoutput terminal of the twelfth transistor Tr12 and the pull-down driver515. Here, a parasitic capacitor (not shown) may be respectively formedbetween the input terminal and the control terminal, and the controlterminal and the output terminal, of the seventh transistor Tr7. If thepull-up driver 512 is applied with the high signal at the clock terminalCK, the high signal is transmitted to the control terminal of theseventh transistor Tr7 and the pull-down driver 515 through the twelfthtransistor Tr12. The high signal transmitted to the seventh transistorTr7 turns on the seventh transistor Tr7, and as a result the high signalapplied from the clock terminal CK is applied to the node Q′.

The transmission signal generator 513 includes one transistor (thefifteenth transistor Tr15). The input terminal of the fifteenthtransistor Tr15 is connected to the clock terminal CK thereby receivingthe first clock signal CKV or the second clock signal CKVB. The controlterminal thereof is connected to the output terminal of the inputsection 511, that is, the node Q. The output terminal thereof isconnected to the transmission signal output terminal CRout that outputsthe transmission signal CR. Here, a parasitic capacitor (not shown) maybe formed between the control terminal and the output terminal. Theoutput terminal of the fifteenth transistor Tr15 is connected to thepull-down driver 515 as well as the transmission signal output terminalCRout, thereby receiving the second low voltage Vss2. As a result, thevoltage value when the transmission signal CR is low is the second lowvoltage Vss2.

The output section 514 includes one transistor (the first transistorTr1) and one capacitor (the first capacitor C1). The control terminal ofthe first transistor Tr1 is connected to the node Q. The input terminalthereof receives the first clock signal CKV or the second clock signalCKVB through the clock terminal CK. The first capacitor C1 is formedbetween the control terminal and the output terminal. The outputterminal thereof is connected to the gate voltage output terminal OUT.Also, the output terminal is connected to the pull-down driver 515thereby receiving the first low voltage Vss1. As a result, the value ofthe voltage of the gate-off voltage is the first low voltage Vss1. Thisoutput section 514 outputs the gate voltage according to the voltage ofthe node Q and the first clock signal CKV.

The pull-down driver 515 removes charges remaining at the stage SR as aportion to smoothly output the gate-off voltage and the low voltage ofthe transmission signal CR thereby executing functions of decreasing thepotential of the node Q, the potential of the node Q′, the voltageoutput to the transmission signal CRout, and the voltage output to thegate line. The pull-down driver 515 includes ten transistors (the secondtransistor Tr2, the third transistor Tr3, the fifth transistor Tr5, thesixth transistor Tr6, the eighth transistor Tr8 to the eleventhtransistor Tr11, the thirteenth transistor Tr13 and the sixteenthtransistor Tr16).

The transistors that pull down the node Q will be first described. Thetransistors that pull down the node Q are the sixth transistor Tr6, theninth transistor Tr9, the tenth transistor Tr10, and the sixteenthtransistor Tr16.

The control terminal of the sixth transistor Tr6 is connected to thethird input terminal IN3. The output terminal thereof is connected tothe second voltage input terminal Vin2. The input terminal thereof isconnected to the node Q. Therefore, the sixth transistor Tr6 is turnedon according to the transmission signal CR applied from the second nextstage, thereby having the function of decreasing the voltage of the nodeQ to the second low voltage Vss2.

The ninth transistor Tr9 and the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are operatedtogether thereby pulling down the node Q. The control terminal of theninth transistor Tr9 is connected to the second input terminal IN2. Theinput terminal thereof is connected to the node Q. The output terminalthereof is connected to the input terminal and the control terminal ofthe sixteenth transistor Tr16. The control terminal and the inputterminal of the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are diode-connected to theoutput terminal of the ninth transistor Tr9. The output terminal thereofis connected to the second voltage input terminal Vin2. Therefore, theninth transistor Tr9 and the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are turned onaccording to the transmission signal CR applied from the next stage,thereby executing the function of decreasing the voltage of the node Qto the second low voltage Vss2.

The input terminal of the tenth transistor Tr10 is connected to the nodeQ, the output terminal thereof is connected to the second voltage inputterminal Vin2, and the control terminal thereof is connected to the nodeQ′ (which has the reverse voltage to the node Q such that it is referredto as a reverse terminal). Therefore, the tenth transistor Tr10 has thefunction of continuously decreasing the voltage of the node Q to thesecond low voltage Vss2 in the general period when the node Q′ has thehigh voltage and then not decreasing the voltage of the node Q when thevoltage of the node Q′ is only the low voltage. When the voltage of thenode Q is not decreased, the corresponding stage outputs the gate-onvoltage and the transmission signal CR.

The transistors that pull down the node Q′ in the pull-down driver 515will now be described. The transistors that pull down the node Q′ arethe fifth transistor Tr5, the eighth transistor Tr8, and the thirteenthtransistor Tr13.

The control terminal of the fifth transistor Tr5 is connected to thefirst input terminal IN1, the input terminal thereof is connected to thenode Q′, and the output terminal thereof is connected to the secondvoltage input terminal Vin2. As a result, the fifth transistor Tr5decreases the voltage of the node Q′ to the second low voltage Vss2according to the transmission signal CR of the previous stage.

The eighth transistor Tr8 has the control terminal connected to thetransmission signal output terminal CRout of the corresponding stage,the input terminal connected to the node Q′, and the output terminalconnected to the second voltage input terminal Vin2. As a result, theeighth transistor Tr8 functions to decrease the voltage of the node Q′to the second low voltage Vss2 according to the transmission signal CRof the corresponding stage.

The thirteenth transistor Tr13 has the control terminal connected to thetransmission signal output terminal CRout of the corresponding stage,the input terminal connected to the output terminal of the twelfthtransistor Tr12 of the pull-up driver 512, and the output terminalconnected to the second voltage input terminal Vin2. As a result, thethirteenth transistor Tr13 functions to decrease the inner potential ofthe pull-up driver 512 to the second low voltage Vss2 and decrease thevoltage of the node Q′ connected to the pull-up driver 512 to the secondlow voltage Vss2 according to the transmission signal CR of thecorresponding stage. That is, the thirteenth transistor Tr13 strictlyfunctions to discharge the inner charges of the pull-up driver 512 tothe second low voltage Vss2. However, the pull-up driver 512 is alsoconnected to the node Q′ for the voltage of the node Q′ to not be pulledup such that the thirteenth transistor Tr13 assists to decrease thevoltage of the node Q′ to the second low voltage Vss2.

The transistor decreasing the voltage output to the transmission signalCRout in the pull-down driver 515 will now be described. The transistordecreasing the voltage output to the transmission signal CRout is theeleventh transistor Tr11.

The eleventh transistor Tr11 has the control terminal connected to thenode Q′, the input terminal connected to the transmission signal outputterminal CRout, and the output terminal connected to the second voltageinput terminal Vin2. As a result, when the voltage of the node Q′ ishigh, the voltage of the transmission signal output terminal CRout isdecreased to the second low voltage Vss2 such that the transmissionsignal CR is changed to the low level.

The transistors decreasing the voltage output to the gate line from thepull-down driver 515 will now be described. The transistors decreasingthe voltage output to the gate line are the second transistor Tr2 andthe third transistor Tr3.

The second transistor Tr2 has the control terminal connected to thesecond input terminal IN2, the input terminal connected to the gatevoltage output terminal OUT, and the output terminal connected to thefirst voltage input terminal Vin1. As a result, the gate voltage outputwhen the transmission signal CR of the next stage is output is changedto the first low voltage Vss1.

The third transistor Tr3 has the control terminal connected to the nodeQ′, the input terminal connected to the gate voltage output terminal OUTand the output terminal connected to the first voltage input terminalVin1. As a result, the gate voltage output when the voltage of the nodeQ′ is high is changed to the first low voltage Vss1.

In the pull-down driver 515, the gate voltage output terminal OUT isonly decreased to the first low voltage Vss1, and the node Q, the nodeQ′ and the transmission signal output terminal CRout are decreased tothe second low voltage Vss2 that is lower than the first low voltageVss1. As a result, although the gate-on voltage and the high voltage ofthe transmission signal CR may have the same voltage, the gate-offvoltage and the low voltage of the transmission signal CR have differentvoltages. That is, the gate-off voltage has the first low voltage Vss1,and the low voltage of the transmission signal CR has the second lowvoltage Vss2.

The gate voltage and transmission signal CR may have various voltagevalues. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the gate-onvoltage is 25V. The gate-off voltage and the first low voltage Vss1 are−5V. The high voltage of the transmission signal CR is 25V. The lowvoltage and the second low voltage Vss2 are −10V.

In summary, the transmission signal generator 513 and the output section514 are operated by the voltage of the node Q such that one stage SRoutputs the high voltage of the transmission signal CR and the gate-onvoltage, the transmission signal CR is decreased from the high voltageto the second low voltage Vss2 by the previous, the next, and the secondnext transmission signals CR, and the gate-on voltage is decreased tothe first low voltage Vss1 thereby being the gate-off voltage. Here, onestage SR decreases the voltage of the node Q to the second low voltageVss2 by the second next transmission signal CR as well as the nexttransmission signal CR to reduce the power consumption. The second lowvoltage Vss2 is lower than the first low voltage Vss1 as the gate-offvoltage such that the second low voltage Vss2 is sufficiently low andthe transistors included in the stage hardly flow out any leakagecurrent. There is thereby the benefit that the power consumption isdecreased although the transmission signal CR applied in the differentstage includes a ripple or noise such that the voltage is changed.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing power consumption of the gate driver 500according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 . “A” depicts powerconsumption of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 , and “B” depictspower consumption of the conventional art. “A” is represented as aplurality of bar graphs, which means the results are measured through aplurality of exemplary embodiments, and 189 mW is average powerconsumption of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 . On the other hand,it is typically known that the power consumption of the gate driveraccording to the conventional art is 430 mW. Accordingly, the powerconsumption can be reduced by more than half when implementing theexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The transistors Tr1-Tr13, Tr15, Tr16 formed in the stage SR may be NMOStransistors, when the transistors Tr1-Tr13, Tr15, Tr16 are formed asPMOS transistors. The transistors Tr1-Tr13, Tr15, Tr16 may be on whenthe voltage applied to the control terminal is low.

Next, a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 .

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a display device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention and shows an exemplary embodiment inwhich the data driver IC 460 is formed at the lower side of the displaypanel 100, differently from that in FIG. 1 . This does not mean that theexemplary embodiments of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 is limited to the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 5 , since the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 6 andFIG. 7 can be both applied to the exemplary embodiments of FIG. 1 andFIG. 5 .

Except for the data driver IC 460 being formed at the lower side of thedisplay panel 100, FIG. 5 is the same as FIG. 1 . In the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 1 , the data driver IC 460 is formed at the upperside of the display panel 100. The gate driver of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 andthe gate driver of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 may be applied to all displaydevices of FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 .

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the gate driver and the gate line ofFIG. 5 in further detail, and has the same signal characteristics asthat of FIG. 2 . That is, the signals input and output to each stage SRformed in the gate driver 500 are the same as those of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 shows the connection relationship and the operation of the gatedriver 500, and will be described again as follows.

The gate driver 500 includes a plurality of stages SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, .. . that are dependently connected to each other. Each of the stagesSR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, . . . includes three input terminals IN1, IN2, IN3,one clock input terminal CK, two voltage input terminals Vin1, Vin2, agate voltage output terminal OUT that outputs the gate voltage, and atransmission signal output terminal CRout.

The first input terminal IN1 is connected to the transmission signaloutput terminal CRout of the previous stage thereby receiving thetransmission signal CR of the previous stage. The first stage does nothave the previous stage such that the scan start signal STVP of thefirst input terminal IN1 is applied.

The second input terminal IN2 is connected to the transmission signaloutput terminal CRout of the next stage, thereby receiving thetransmission signal CR of the next stage. Also, the third input terminalIN3 is connected to the transmission signal output terminal CRout of thesecond next stage, thereby receiving the transmission signal CR of thesecond next stage.

The stage SRn (not shown) connected to the n-th gate line Gn may havetwo dummy stages to receive the transmission signal CR from the nextstage and the second next stage. The dummy stages (SRn+1, SRn+2; notshown) are stages that generate and output a dummy gate voltage,differently from the stages SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, . . . SRn. That is, thegate voltage output from the stages SR1, . . . SRn is transmitted thoughthe gate line thereby the data voltage is applied to the pixel for thedisplay of the images, however the dummy stages SRn+1, SRn+2 would notbe connected to the gate lines, and even if they are connected to thegate lines, they are connected to the gate lines of dummy pixels (notshown) that do not display the image such that they would not be usedfor the display of the image.

The clock terminal CK is applied with a clock signal. Among theplurality of stages, the clock terminals CK of the odd-numbered stagesare applied to the first clock signal CKV. The clock terminals CK of theeven-numbered stages are applied with the second clock signal CKVB. Thefirst clock signal CKV and the second clock signal CKVB are clocksignals having opposite phases to each other.

The first voltage input terminal Vin1 is applied with the first lowvoltage Vss1 corresponding to the gate-off voltage. The second voltageinput terminal Vin2 is applied with the second low voltage Vss2 that islower than the first low voltage Vss1. The voltage values of the firstlow voltage Vss1 and the second low voltage Vss2 may vary according tothe exemplary embodiment. The value of the first low voltage Vss1 is −5Vand the value of the second low voltage Vss2 is −10V in the presentexemplary embodiment.

Next, the operation of the gate driver 500 will be described in moredetail.

The first stage SR1 receives the first clock signal CKV provided fromoutside external to the clock input terminal CK, the scan start signalSTVP through the first input terminal IN1, the first and second lowvoltages Vss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltage input terminalsVin1, Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectively provided fromthe second stage SR2 and the third stage SR3 through the second andthird input terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltage is outputto the first gate line through the gate voltage output terminal OUT.Also, the transmission signal output terminal CRout outputs thetransmission signal CR, and it is transmitted to the first inputterminal IN1 of the second stage SR2.

The second stage SR2 receives the second clock signal CKVB provided fromthe outside to the clock input terminal CK, the transmission signal CRof the first stage SR1 through the first input terminal IN1, the firstand second low voltages Vss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltageinput terminals Vin1, Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectivelyprovided from the third stage SR3 and the fourth stage SR4 through thesecond and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltageis output to the second gate line through the gate voltage outputterminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output through thetransmission signal output terminal CRout, thereby being transmitted tothe first input terminal IN1 of the third stage SR3 and the second inputterminal IN2 of the first stage SR1.

The third stage SR3 receives the first clock signal CKV provided fromthe outside to the clock input terminal CK, the transmission signal CRof the second stage SR2 through the first input terminal IN1, the firstand second low voltages Vss1, Vss2 through the first and second voltageinput terminals Vin1, Vin2, and the transmission signals CR respectivelyprovided from the fourth stage SR4 and the fifth stage SR5 through thesecond and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that the gate-on voltageis output to the third gate line through the gate voltage outputterminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output through thetransmission signal output terminal CRout thereby being transmitted tothe first input terminal IN1 of the fourth stage SR4, the third inputterminal IN3 of the first stage SR1, and the second input terminal IN2of the second stage SR2.

Through the above method, The n-th stage SRn receives the second clocksignal CKVB provided from the outside to the clock input terminal CK,the transmission signal CR of the n−1-th stage SRn−1 through the firstinput terminal IN1, the first and second low voltages Vss1, Vss2 throughthe first and the second voltage input terminals Vin1, Vin2, and thetransmission signals CR respectively provided from the (n+1)-th stageSRn+1 (the dummy stage) and the (n+2)-th stage SRn+2 (the dummy stage)through the second and third input terminals IN2, IN3 such that thegate-on voltage is output to the n-th gate line through the gate voltageoutput terminal OUT. Also, the transmission signal CR is output throughthe transmission signal output terminal CRout thereby being transmittedto the first input terminal IN1 of the (n+1)-th stage SRn+1 (the dummystage), the third input terminal IN3 of the (n−2)-th stage SRn−2, andthe second input terminal IN2 of the n−1-th stage SRn−1.

The connection structure of the stages SR of the whole gate driver 500has been described with reference to FIG. 6 . Next, a structure of astage SR of a gate driver connected to one gate line will be describedin further detail with reference to FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of one stage SR and one gate line in FIG. 6. Each stage SR of the gate driver 500 according to the presentexemplary embodiment includes an input section 511, a pull-up driver512, a transmission signal generator 513, an output section 514, and apull-down driver 515.

The input section 511 includes one transistor (the fourth transistorTr4). The input terminal and the control terminal of the fourthtransistor Tr4 are commonly connected (diode-connected) to the firstinput terminal IN1. The output terminal thereof is connected to a node Q(hereinafter referred to as the first node). The input section 511 has afunction of transmitting the high voltage to the node Q when the firstinput terminal IN1 is applied with the high voltage.

The pull-up driver 512 includes two transistors (the seventh transistorTr7 and the twelfth transistor Tr12). The control terminal and the inputterminal of the twelfth transistor Tr12 are diode-connected therebyreceiving the first clock signal CKV or the second clock signal CKVBthrough the clock terminal CK. The output terminal is connected to thecontrol terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 and the pull-down driver515. The input terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 is also connectedto the clock terminal CK. The output terminal is connected to the nodeQ′ (hereinafter referred to as the second node) and is passed throughthe node Q′ thereby being connected to the pull-down driver 515. Thecontrol terminal of the seventh transistor Tr7 is connected to theoutput terminal of the twelfth transistor Tr12 and the pull-down driver515. Here, a parasitic capacitor (not shown) may be respectively formedbetween the input terminal and the control terminal, and the controlterminal and the output terminal, of the seventh transistor Tr7. If thepull-up driver 512 is applied with the high signal at the clock terminalCK, and the high signal is transmitted to the control terminal of theseventh transistor Tr7 and the pull-down driver 515 through the twelfthtransistor Tr12. The high signal transmitted to the seventh transistorTr7 turns on the seventh transistor Tr7, and as a result the high signalapplied from the clock terminal CK is applied to the node Q′.

The transmission signal generator 513 includes one transistor (thefifteenth transistor Tr15). The input terminal of the fifteenthtransistor Tr15 is connected to the clock terminal CK thereby receivingthe first clock signal CKV or the second clock signal CKVB. The controlterminal thereof is connected to the output terminal of the inputsection 511, that is, the node Q, and the output terminal thereof isconnected to the transmission signal output terminal CRout that outputsthe transmission signal CR. Here, a parasitic capacitor (not shown) maybe formed between the control terminal and the output terminal. Theoutput terminal of the fifteenth transistor Tr15 is connected to thepull-down driver 515 as well as the transmission signal output terminalCRout, thereby receiving the second low voltage Vss2. As a result, thevoltage value when the transmission signal CR is low is the second lowvoltage Vss2.

The output section 514 includes one transistor (the first transistorTr1) and one capacitor (the first capacitor C1). The control terminal ofthe first transistor Tr1 is connected to the node Q, the input terminalthereof receives the first clock signal CKV or the second clock signalCKVB through the clock terminal CK, the first capacitor C1 is formedbetween the control terminal and the output terminal, and the outputterminal thereof is connected to the gate voltage output terminal OUT.Also, the output terminal is connected to the pull-down driver 515thereby receiving the first low voltage Vss1. As a result, the value ofthe voltage of the gate-off voltage is the first low voltage Vss1. Thisoutput section 514 outputs the gate voltage according to the voltage ofthe node Q and the first clock signal CKV.

The pull-down driver 515 removes charges remaining at the stage SR asthe portion to smoothly output the gate-off voltage and the low voltageof the transmission signal CR thereby executing functions of decreasingthe potential of the node Q, the potential of the node Q′, the voltageoutput to the transmission signal CRout, and the voltage output to thegate line. The pull-down driver 515 includes eleven transistors (thesecond transistor Tr2, the third transistor Tr3, the fifth transistorTr5, the sixth transistor Tr6, the eighth transistor Tr8 to the eleventhtransistor Tr11, the thirteenth transistor Tr13, the sixteenthtransistor Tr16, and the seventeenth transistor Tr17).

First, the transistors that pull down the node Q will be described. Thetransistors that pull down the node Q are the sixth transistor Tr6, theninth transistor Tr9, the tenth transistor Tr10, and the sixteenthtransistor Tr16.

The control terminal of the sixth transistor Tr6 is connected to thethird input terminal IN3. The output terminal thereof is connected tothe second voltage input terminal Vin2. The input terminal thereof isconnected to the node Q. Therefore, the sixth transistor Tr6 is turnedon according to the transmission signal CR applied from the second nextstage, thereby having the function of decreasing the voltage of the nodeQ to the second low voltage Vss2.

The ninth transistor Tr9 and the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are operatedtogether thereby pulling down the node Q. The control terminal of theninth transistor Tr9 is connected to the second input terminal IN2. Theinput terminal thereof is connected to the node Q. The output terminalthereof is connected to the input terminal and the control terminal ofthe sixteenth transistor Tr16. The control terminal and the inputterminal of the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are diode-connected to theoutput terminal of the ninth transistor Tr9. The output terminal thereofis connected to the second voltage input terminal Vin2. Therefore, theninth transistor Tr9 and the sixteenth transistor Tr16 are turned onaccording to the transmission signal CR applied from the next stage,thereby executing the function of decreasing the voltage of the node Qto the second low voltage Vss2.

The input terminal of the tenth transistor Tr10 is connected to the nodeQ. The output terminal thereof is connected to the second voltage inputterminal Vin2. The control terminal thereof is connected to the node Q′(that has the reverse voltage to the node Q such that it is referred toas a reverse terminal). Therefore, the tenth transistor Tr10 has thefunction of continuously decreasing the voltage of the node Q to thesecond low voltage Vss2 in the general period that the node Q′ has thehigh voltage and then not decreasing the voltage of the node Q when thevoltage of the node Q′ is only the low voltage. When the voltage of thenode Q is not decreased, the corresponding stage outputs the gate-onvoltage and the transmission signal CR.

The transistor that pulls-down the node Q′ in the pull-down driver 515will now be described. The transistors that pull down the node Q′ arethe fifth transistor Tr5, the eighth transistor Tr8, and the thirteenthtransistor Tr13.

The control terminal of the fifth transistor Tr5 is connected to thefirst input terminal IN1. The input terminal thereof is connected to thenode Q′. The output terminal thereof is connected to the second voltageinput terminal Vin2. As a result, the fifth transistor Tr5 decreases thevoltage of the node Q′ to the second low voltage Vss2 according to thetransmission signal CR of the previous stage.

The eighth transistor Tr8 has the control terminal connected to thetransmission signal output terminal CRout of the corresponding stage,the input terminal connected to the node Q′, and the output terminalconnected to the first voltage input terminal Vin1. As a result, theeighth transistor Tr8 functions to decrease the voltage of the node Q′to the first low voltage Vss1 according to the transmission signal CR ofthe corresponding stage.

The thirteenth transistor Tr13 has the control terminal connected to thetransmission signal output terminal CRout of the corresponding stage,the input terminal connected to the output terminal of the twelfthtransistor Tr12 of the pull-up driver 512, and the output terminalconnected to the first voltage input terminal Vin1. As a result, thethirteenth transistor Tr13 functions to decrease the inner potential ofthe pull-up driver 512 to the first low voltage Vss1 and to decrease thevoltage of the node Q′ connected to the pull-up driver 512 to the firstlow voltage Vss1 according to the transmission signal CR of thecorresponding stage. That is, the thirteenth transistor Tr13 strictlyfunctions to discharge the inner charges of the pull-up driver 512 tothe first low voltage Vss1. However, the pull-up driver 512 is alsoconnected to the node Q′ for the voltage of the node Q′ to not be pulledup such that the thirteenth transistor Tr13 assists to decrease thevoltage of the node Q′ to the first low voltage Vss1.

Different from the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 , the eighthtransistor Tr8 and the thirteenth transistor Tr13 are connected to thefirst voltage input terminal Vin1 applied with the first low voltageVss1 in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 .

The transistors decreasing the voltage output to the transmission signalCRout in the pull-down driver 515 will now be described. The transistorsdecreasing the voltage output to the transmission signal CRout are theeleventh transistor Tr11 and the seventeenth transistor Tr17.

The eleventh transistor Tr11 has the control terminal connected to thenode Q′, the input terminal connected to the transmission signal outputterminal CRout, and the output terminal connected to the second voltageinput terminal Vin2. As a result, when the voltage of the node Q′ ishigh, the voltage of the transmission signal output terminal CRout isdecreased to the second low voltage Vss2, and as a result thetransmission signal CR is changed to the low level.

The seventeenth transistor Tr17 that is not included in the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 3 has the control terminal connected to the secondinput terminal IN2, the input terminal connected to the transmissionsignal output terminal CRout, and the output terminal connected to thesecond voltage input terminal Vin2. As a result, it has the function ofdecreasing the voltage of the transmission signal output terminal CRoutto the second low voltage Vss2 according to the transmission signal CRof the next stage. To assist the operation of the eleventh transistorTr11, the seventeenth transistor Tr17 is operated based upon thetransmission signal CR of the next stage.

The transistors decreasing the voltage output to the gate line from thepull-down driver 515 will now be described. The transistors decreasingthe voltage output to the gate line are the second transistor Tr2 andthe third transistor Tr3.

The second transistor Tr2 has the control terminal connected to thesecond input terminal IN2, the input terminal connected to the gatevoltage output terminal OUT, and the output terminal connected to thefirst voltage input terminal Vin1. As a result, the gate voltage outputwhen the transmission signal CR of the next stage is output is changedto the first low voltage Vss1.

The third transistor Tr3 has the control terminal connected to the nodeQ′, the input terminal connected to the gate voltage output terminalOUT, and the output terminal connected to the first voltage inputterminal Vin1. As a result, the gate voltage output when the voltage ofthe node Q′ is high is changed to the first low voltage Vss1.

In pull-down driver 515, the operation of decreasing the voltage outputto the transmission signal CRout and the operation of decreasing thevoltage output to the gate line are executed through two transistors,and they are connected to the second input terminal IN2 such that theyare operated according to the transmission signal CR of the next stageor the voltage of the node Q′, thereby may be operated with the sametiming. However, the voltage output to the transmission signal CRout isdecreased to the second low voltage Vss2, and the gate-off voltage isdecreased to the first low voltage Vss1 such that the voltage when thetransmission signal CR is low is lower than the gate-off voltage.

In the pull-down driver 515, the gate voltage output terminal OUT isonly decreased to the first low voltage Vss1, and the node Q and thetransmission signal output terminal CRout are decreased to the secondlow voltage Vss2 that is lower than the first low voltage Vss1. As aresult, although the gate-on voltage and the high voltage of thetransmission signal CR may by the same voltage, the gate-off voltage andthe low voltage of the transmission signal CR are different voltages.That is, the gate-off voltage is the first low voltage Vss1, and the lowvoltage of the transmission signal CR is the second low voltage Vss2. Onthe other hand, the node Q′ is decreased to the first low voltage Vss1by the eighth transistor Tr8 and the thirteenth transistor Tr13, and tothe second low voltage Vss2 by the fifth transistor Tr5.

The gate voltage and transmission signal CR may have the various voltagevalues, however in the present exemplary embodiment, the gate-on voltageis 25V, the gate-off voltage and the first low voltage Vss1 are −5V, thehigh voltage of the transmission signal CR is 25V, and the low voltageand the second low voltage Vss2 are −10V.

In summary, the transmission signal generator 513 and the output section514 are operated by the voltage of the node Q such that one stage SRoutputs the high voltage of the transmission signal CR and the gate-onvoltage. The transmission signal CR is decreased from the high voltageto the second low voltage Vss2 by the previous, the next, and the secondnext transmission signal CR, and the gate-on voltage is decreased to thefirst low voltage Vss1 thereby being the gate-off voltage. Here, onestage SR decreases the voltage of the node Q to the second low voltageVss2 by the second next transmission signal CR as well as the nexttransmission signal CR to reduce the power consumption. The second lowvoltage Vss2 is lower than the first low voltage Vss1 as the gate-offvoltage such that the second low voltage Vss2 is sufficiently low suchthat the transistors included in the stage hardly flow out any leakagecurrent such that there is the benefit that the power consumption isdecreased although the transmission signal CR applied in the differentstage includes a ripple or noise and the voltage is changed.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing power consumption of the gate driver 500according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 . “A′” depicts powerconsumption of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 , and “B” is powerconsumption of the conventional art. “A′” is represented as a pluralityof bar graphs, which means the results are measured through a pluralityof exemplary embodiments, and 183.5 mW is an average power consumptionof the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 . On the other hand, it istypically known that the power consumption of the gate driver accordingto the conventional art is 430 mW. Accordingly, the power consumptioncan be reduced by more than half in accordance with the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

As compared with FIG. 4 , the average power consumption of the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 7 is 183.5 mW wherein the average power consumptionis less than that of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 whose averagepower consumption is 189 mW. The transmission signal output terminalCRout is changed to the low voltage at the same timing as the gatevoltage output terminal Out by adding the seventeenth transistor Tr17such that the leakage current may be further reduced inside the circuit.

The transistors Tr1-Tr13, and Tr15 to Tr17 formed in the stage SR may beNMOS transistors. When the transistors Tr1-Tr13, and Tr15 to Tr17 areformed as PMOS transistors, the transistors Tr1-Tr13, and Tr15 to Tr17may be on when the voltage applied to the control terminal is low.

As described above, the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 may be applied toboth the exemplary embodiments (the case that the data driver isdisposed at the upper side of the panel) of FIG. 1 and the exemplaryembodiment (the case that the data driver is disposed at the lower sideof the panel) of FIG. 5 , and the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 may beapplied to both the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 and the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 5 . However, in the structure of the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 5 , the first clock signal (CKV), the second clocksignal (CKVB), the scan start signal (STVP), the first low voltage Vss1,and the second low voltage Vss2 applied according to the flexibleprinted circuit film FPC are moved from the lower side to the upperside. The gate-on voltage is applied from the first gate line G1disposed at the upper side such that noise may be generated when thedisplay panel is used for a long time at a high temperature. Whenrespectively using the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 and the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 5 , noise may be generated relatively more at thehigh temperature in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 as compared withthe exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5 . This is the reason that thetransmission signal CR is not again changed to the second low voltageVss2 like the seventeenth transistor Tr17 such that the possibility ofthe generation of the ripple is high in the transmission signal CR.However, the possibility of the generation of noise at the hightemperature in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 is remarkably low ascompared with the conventional gate driver.

Next, power consumption, a high temperature characteristic, a lowtemperature characteristic, and a lifespan will be described focusing onthe exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 as compared with the conventionalart.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing current flow in the first transistor thatoutputs a gate voltage in a gate driver according to the conventionalart with reference to a clock signal CKV voltage. FIG. 10 is a graphshowing current flow in the first transistor that outputs a gate voltagein a gate driver according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 withreference to a clock signal CKV voltage.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the current of the first transistor Tr1 of the gatedriver according to the conventional art varies to a lower limit ofabout −45 μA in correspondence with a varying clock signal CKV. However,the current of the first transistor Tr1 of the gate driver of FIG. 7 asshown in FIG. 10 varies to a lower limit of about −15 μA. As a result,the current used at each stage SR is considerably smaller in theexemplary embodiment according to the present invention, and as a resultthe power consumption can be reduced by more than half. The reduction ofpower consumption by more than half is shown through FIGS. 4 and 8 .

Next, the high temperature characteristics, the low temperaturecharacteristics, and the lifespan characteristics will be described.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing characteristics at high temperature of thegate driver according to the conventional art and according to theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 . The horizontal axis represents anormalization value of a voltage* a temperature, and the vertical axisrepresents a noise ratio. In FIG. 11 , a value α is the referenceavailable as the gate driver.

As shown in FIG. 11 , there is no noise for the general reference of thevalue α in the conventional art and the exemplary embodiment accordingto the present invention. However, if the values of the high temperatureand the voltage used for the gate driver according to the conventionalart are slightly over the reference α, the noise is steeply increased.In contrast, the gate driver according to FIG. 7 still does not includethe noise in the predetermined range. The exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3has the characteristics corresponding to the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 7 . Therefore, the gate driver according to the present inventioncan improve the high temperature characteristics.

FIG. 12 is a graph comparing the low temperature characteristics of thegate drivers of the conventional art and of the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 7 .

In FIG. 12 , the horizontal axis represents temperature and the verticalaxis represents a margin of the gate-on voltage Von. That is, it isshown that the gate driver is not operated at the voltage below theposition represented in the graph.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the conventional gate driver and the gate driverof FIG. 7 have the same margin of the gate-on voltage Von at roomtemperature. However, a difference of the margins of the gate-on voltageVon is generated further closer to the low temperature and driving onlyby the low voltage is possible at the low temperature in the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 7 . However, a relatively high voltage must beapplied for the driving of the conventional gate driver. The exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 3 has the characteristics corresponding to theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 . Therefore, the gate driver according tothe present invention may improve the low temperature characteristics ascompared with the conventional art.

FIG. 13 is a graph comparing the lifespan characteristics of the gatedrivers of the conventional art and of the exemplary embodiment of FIG.7 . The horizontal axis represents an aging time and the vertical axisrepresents a margin of the gate-on voltage Von. In FIG. 13 , a Vonsetting value represents a voltage setting value that is generally usedin the gate driver. If the voltage of the graph is higher than the Vonsetting value, the gate driver can not be operated by the generalapplied voltage, and as a result the lifespan of the gate driver isover.

In an experiment to obtain the graph of FIG. 13 , a higher voltage (ofabout 130%) than the general voltage is applied to the gate driver toeasily finish the lifespan, and the experiment is executed at a hightemperature. As a result, experimental results of a long time can beobtained in short time.

In FIG. 13 , the gate-on voltages Von of the conventional gate driverand the gate driver of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 are bothincreased toward the Von setting value as time passes. However, the gatedriver according to the conventional art after the passage of the timehas a high value such that it may be predicted that the lifespan isfinished quickly. Particularly, compared with the setting values afterthe passage of 200 hours in FIG. 13 , although the setting value of theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 is low, a large difference of about 10%is generated. As a result, the lifespan is remarkably increased ascompared with the gate driver according to the conventional art.

Although not shown in FIG. 13 , the gate driver of FIG. 3 and FIG. 7according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention passesthe lifespan test at more than 5000 hours.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to also cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device comprising: a display areaincluding a gate line; a gate driver electrically connected to the gateline, the gate driver including a plurality of stages and beingintegrated on a substrate, wherein a stage of the plurality of stagescomprises: a first transistor including a control electrode electricallyconnected to a first node, a first electrode electrically connected to aclock signal line to which a clock signal is input, and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the gate line; a third transistorincluding a control electrode electrically connected to a second nodewhich is different from the first node, a first electrode electricallyconnected to a first voff signal line to which a first voff signal isinput, and a second electrode electrically connected to the secondelectrode of the first transistor; a second transistor including acontrol electrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, whereinthe control electrode is electrically connected to at least one of nextstages, and wherein the second electrode is electrically connected tothe second electrode of the first transistor; and a tenth transistorincluding a control electrode electrically connected to the second node,a first electrode electrically connected to a second voff signal line,and a second electrode electrically connected to the first node, whereina voltage level of the first voff signal is different from a voltagelevel of the second voff signal.
 2. The display device of claim 1,wherein the voltage level of the first voff signal is higher than thevoltage level of the second voff signal.
 3. The display device of claim1, wherein the first electrode is electrically connected to the firstvoff signal line.
 4. The display device of claim 3, wherein the stagefurther comprises: a sixth transistor including a control electrodeelectrically connected to at least one of next stages, a first electrodeelectrically connected to the second voff signal line, and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first node.
 5. The displaydevice of claim 4, wherein the stage further comprises: a ninthtransistor including a control electrode electrically connected to theat least one of next stages which is electrically connected to thesecond transistor, a first electrode receiving the second voff signal,and a second electrode electrically connected to the first node.
 6. Thedisplay device of claim 5, wherein the stage further comprises: asixteenth transistor including a control electrode and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first electrode of the ninthtransistor, and a first electrode electrically connected to the secondvoff signal line.
 7. The display device of claim 5, wherein the stagefurther comprises: a fifth transistor including a control electrodeelectrically connected to at least one of previous stages, a firstelectrode electrically connected to the second voff signal line, and asecond electrode electrically connected to the second node.
 8. Thedisplay device of claim 7, wherein the stage further comprises: a fourthtransistor including a control electrode electrically connected to theat least one of previous stages, a first electrode receiving a constantvoltage when the control electrode of the fourth transistor receives aturn-on level voltage of the fourth transistor, and a second electrodeelectrically connected to the first node.
 9. The display device of claim8, wherein the stage further comprises: a twelfth transistor including acontrol electrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, and aseventh transistor including a control electrode, a first electrode, anda second electrode, wherein the control electrode of the twelfthtransistor, the first electrode of the twelfth transistor, and the firstelectrode of the seventh transistor are electrically connected eachother, the control electrode of the seventh transistor and the secondelectrode of the twelfth transistor are electrically connected eachother, and the second electrode of the seventh transistor iselectrically connected to the second node.
 10. The display device ofclaim 9, wherein the stage further comprises: a thirteenth transistorincluding a control electrode, a first electrode, and a secondelectrode, and a eighth transistor including a control electrode, afirst electrode, and a second electrode, wherein the control electrodeof the thirteenth transistor and the control electrode of the eighthtransistor are electrically connected each other, the first electrode ofthe thirteenth transistor and the first electrode of the eighthtransistor are electrically connected to the second voff signal line,the second electrode of the eighth transistor is electrically connectedto the second node, and the second electrode of the thirteenthtransistor is electrically connected to the control electrode of theseventh transistor and the second electrode of the twelfth transistor.11. The display device of claim 9, wherein the stage further comprises:a thirteenth transistor including a control electrode, a firstelectrode, and a second electrode, and a eighth transistor including acontrol electrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, whereinthe first electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the first electrodeof the eighth transistor are electrically connected to the second voffsignal line, the second electrode of the thirteenth transistor iselectrically connected to the control electrode of the seventhtransistor and the second electrode of the twelfth transistor, and thecontrol electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the control electrodeof the eighth transistor receive a turn-on level voltage of thethirteenth transistor and the eighth transistor when a gate-on voltageis applied to the gate line.
 12. The display device of claim 11, whereinthe second electrode of the eighth transistor is electrically connectedto the second node.
 13. The display device of claim 1, wherein the stagefurther comprises: a sixth transistor including a control electrodeelectrically connected to at least one of next stages, a first electrodeelectrically connected to the second voff signal line, and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first node.
 14. The displaydevice of claim 13, wherein the stage further comprises: a ninthtransistor including a control electrode electrically connected to atleast one of next stages, a first electrode receiving the second voffsignal, and a second electrode electrically connected to the first node.15. The display device of claim 14, wherein the stage further comprises:a sixteenth transistor including a control electrode and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first electrode of the ninthtransistor, and a first electrode electrically connected to the secondvoff signal line.
 16. The display device of claim 14, wherein the stagefurther comprises: a fifth transistor including a control electrodeelectrically connected to at least one of previous stages, a firstelectrode electrically connected to the second voff signal line, and asecond electrode electrically connected to the second node.
 17. Thedisplay device of claim 16, wherein the stage further comprises: afourth transistor including a control electrode electrically connectedto the at least one of previous stages, a first electrode receiving aconstant voltage when the control electrode of the fourth transistorreceives a turn-on level voltage of the fourth transistor, and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first node.
 18. The displaydevice of claim 17, wherein the stage further comprises: a twelfthtransistor including a control electrode, a first electrode, and asecond electrode, and a seventh transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, wherein thecontrol electrode of the twelfth transistor, the first electrode of thetwelfth transistor, and the first electrode of the seventh transistorare electrically connected each other, the control electrode of theseventh transistor and the second electrode of the twelfth transistorare electrically connected each other, and the second electrode of theseventh transistor is electrically connected to the second node.
 19. Thedisplay device of claim 18, wherein the stage further comprises: athirteenth transistor including a control electrode, a first electrode,and a second electrode, and a eighth transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, wherein thecontrol electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the control electrodeof the eighth transistor are electrically connected each other, thefirst electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the first electrode ofthe eighth transistor are electrically connected to the second voffsignal line, the second electrode of the eighth transistor iselectrically connected to the second node, and the second electrode ofthe thirteenth transistor is electrically connected to the controlelectrode of the seventh transistor and the second electrode of thetwelfth transistor.
 20. The display device of claim 18, wherein thestage further comprises: a thirteenth transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, and a eighthtransistor including a control electrode, a first electrode, and asecond electrode, wherein the first electrode of the thirteenthtransistor and the first electrode of the eighth transistor areelectrically connected to the second voff signal line, the secondelectrode of the thirteenth transistor is electrically connected to thecontrol electrode of the seventh transistor and the second electrode ofthe twelfth transistor, and the control electrode of the thirteenthtransistor and the control electrode of the eighth transistor receive aturn-on level voltage of the thirteenth transistor and the eighthtransistor when a gate-on voltage is applied to the gate line.
 21. Thedisplay device of claim 20, wherein the second electrode of the eighthtransistor is electrically connected to the second node.
 22. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein the stage further comprises: a ninthtransistor including a control electrode electrically connected to atleast one of next stages, a first electrode receiving the second voffsignal, and a second electrode electrically connected to the first node.23. The display device of claim 22, wherein the stage further comprises:a sixteenth transistor including a control electrode and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first electrode of the ninthtransistor, and a first electrode electrically connected to the secondvoff signal line.
 24. The display device of claim 22, wherein the stagefurther comprises: a fifth transistor including a control electrodeelectrically connected to at least one of previous stages, a firstelectrode electrically connected to the second voff signal line, and asecond electrode electrically connected to the second node.
 25. Thedisplay device of claim 24, wherein the stage further comprises: afourth transistor including a control electrode electrically connectedto the at least one of previous stages, a first electrode receiving aconstant voltage when the control electrode of the fourth transistorreceives a turn-on level voltage of the fourth transistor, and a secondelectrode electrically connected to the first node.
 26. The displaydevice of claim 25, wherein the stage further comprises: a twelfthtransistor including a control electrode, a first electrode, and asecond electrode, and a seventh transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, wherein thecontrol electrode of the twelfth transistor, the first electrode of thetwelfth transistor, and the first electrode of the seventh transistorare electrically connected each other, the control electrode of theseventh transistor and the second electrode of the twelfth transistorare electrically connected each other, and the second electrode of theseventh transistor is electrically connected to the second node.
 27. Thedisplay device of claim 26, wherein the stage further comprises: athirteenth transistor including a control electrode, a first electrode,and a second electrode, and a eighth transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, wherein thecontrol electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the control electrodeof the eighth transistor are electrically connected each other, thefirst electrode of the thirteenth transistor and the first electrode ofthe eighth transistor are electrically connected to the second voffsignal line, the second electrode of the eighth transistor iselectrically connected to the second node, and the second electrode ofthe thirteenth transistor is electrically connected to the controlelectrode of the seventh transistor and the second electrode of thetwelfth transistor.
 28. The display device of claim 26, wherein thestage further comprises: a thirteenth transistor including a controlelectrode, a first electrode, and a second electrode, and a eighthtransistor including a control electrode, a first electrode, and asecond electrode, wherein the first electrode of the thirteenthtransistor and the first electrode of the eighth transistor areelectrically connected to the second voff signal line, the secondelectrode of the thirteenth transistor is electrically connected to thecontrol electrode of the seventh transistor and the second electrode ofthe twelfth transistor, and the control electrode of the thirteenthtransistor and the control electrode of the eighth transistor receive aturn-on level voltage of the thirteenth transistor and the eighthtransistor when a gate-on voltage is applied to the gate line.
 29. Thedisplay device of claim 28, wherein the second electrode of the eighthtransistor is electrically connected to the second node.